An early riser, Earl Jay Kohler was in the airplane hanger on Ford Island writing a letter to his mother on the morning of December 7th. After getting hit by shrapnel, he disobeyed direct orders to stay put and ran to get enough ammo to fire back. With guns in hand, he and his comrades worked hard to repel the second wave of Japanese bombers from Ford Island. During and after the attack, his greatest fear was not bombs or bullets--but the threat of court martial for disobeying his officer’s orders not to shoot back.